Low Carb Cream of Chicken Soup

Melin and I are working very hard to lose a little weight the low carb way, but it's winter and I just love soups!!! I was messing around on the internet and found a recipe for Cream of Chicken Soup....I "souped" it up a little to make it my own, but it was absolutely delicious!!

4 skinless chicken thighs, diced

1 bunch green onions, diced

1 tsp onion powder

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup diced mushrooms

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven, then add the chicken...don't move it around until it comes up fairly easily. You want it to brown well for extra flavor. After you turn it the first time, then add the remaining ingredients. While the chicken is browning and the green onions and mushrooms are cooking, add the following to a blender/processor and puree and set aside:

1 cup cooked cauliflower

2 egg yolks

3 ounces cream cheese

1 cup heavy cream

After the chicken is browned, add:

4 cups chicken stock/broth

After the stock is heated, add about 1/4 of the stock mixture to the pureed mixture, then add the whole thing to your stock pot and gently simmer until it thickens....then chow down!!!

This soup is fabulous!!!!!!

Where Have I Been???

Wow.....I just can't believe it's been 5 weeks since I've posted! I've been cooking and I've been snapping pictures, but I just haven't had the time to post them. Dennis is handling foreclosure properties for Countrywide now and I've been pitching in to help him.....we work most nights until almost midnight and we when take a few minutes to relax, the last place I want to be is in front of the computer, since that's where I've been the whole day!

So last Saturday morning I wanted to make sure we had a really delicious and satisfying breakfast to start yet another busy day (yep, we're working 7 days a week!). Since I'm on a lower carb diet (7 pounds so far!), I decided to keep it pretty low carb, even though it might be a little high in the "fat" area......it was a day to splurge and pamper ourselves.

So I made one of my faves for breakfast, Eggs Benedict!!! It's so simple, you really don't need a recipe......well, maybe for the hollandaise, if you're going to make it from scratch. Because I had minimal time, I used Knorr's Hollandaise Sauce mix....it's nowhere near as good as made from scratch, but in a pinch, it works and it's delicious. I will post my recipe from my cookbook for scratch hollandaise sauce....it really is easy to make...promise!

Soooooooo........I started by poaching my eggs. Everyone has their secret to good poached eggs, but mine starts with adding just a tablespoon or so of white vinegar to the water. It doesn't affect the taste at all, but it does help keep those egg whites from falling apart and going everywhere once the egg is put into the water. The next thing I do is put my egg in a measuring cup and then gently lower it into the water, making as little motion in the water as possible. Just use the back of a spoon to lightly press on the yolk until it gets to the consistency you want it.

Since Dennis doesn't diet AT ALL, I toasted English muffins for him, but for me I just put my heated Canadian bacon on the plate, chopped leftover grilled asparagus on top of that, then the egg and topped it with the hollandaise sauce. For taste and appearance I usually use chopped chives, but mine has passed away, so I diced up green onions....not much difference and still delicious!

Bad picture.....sorry, but I'm still trying to figure this camera out. I refuse to give up and go with a "point and shoot"!

Those Devilish Eggs!

Just a quick tip.......don't you just hate peeling the shells from boiled eggs??? I think it would be the number one reason I would never sign up for deviled eggs at office luncheons (there are other reasons though...).

Rachel Ray showed a quick and easy way to get those shells off in a snap. You boil your eggs, then pour out the water, put the lid on and shake them......shake them well, making sure the eggs bounce all over the pan. When you take off the lid, the shells are cracked into tons of tiny pieces that slide right off! Hmm....maybe we'll have deviled eggs this Christmas!

Thanksgiving Update

I can't believe I never posted anything about our Thanksgiving dinner. I had the most fabulous time helping Shelby (via tons of telephone calls!) cook her first Thanksgiving dinner, which was a total success!

Mine was smaller than usual this year, but I did make some changes that I thought I'd tell you about, especially since these dishes do tend to grace Christmas dinner tables!

The first was my mashed potatoes....we've all had successes and failures with this dish! I've made them too thin, too lumpy....you name it! But this year I bought a gadget (and one for Shelby, too!) that makes no-fail mashed spuds.....a potato ricer! Believe it or not, I got it at Farm Fresh....and it works! Just boil your potatoes, as usual....just make sure they don't get too mushy...just fork tender. Then spoon them into the ricer and push them out! It sure beats having to clean spuds off the cabinets when you use a mixer...and the food processor turns them into something even a baby can't eat...wayyyy too thin! They were perfect, especially after I added a whole head of roasted garlic, butter and sour cream. Yummmmmm!!!

The next thing I did was change up my green bean casserole recipe. I literally cannot stand canned cream of mushroom soup, which is why I never made green bean casserole until a couple of years ago, by request only. To "mask" the canned soup taste, I added sour cream, mayonnaise and cheddar cheese and everyone LOVED it....but it still bothered me that I was using something in my food that looked like glue...and didn't taste much better! Sooooo......I melted a little butter in a pan on medium high and sauteed some chopped up mushrooms, added a little flour, salt and pepper and cooked the floury taste out of it, then added half and half until it was thick!!! Homemade Cream Of Mushroom Soup!!! This year's casserole was, by far, the best I've ever had....no more canned mushroom soup for me!

The next thing I did was change up my pumpkin pie a little......I had read somewhere that they had used a portion of sweet potatoes to pumpkin puree and it made it better, so I tried it. I used 1/3 canned sweet potatoes and 2/3 pumpkin puree....ohmigosh!!! It was the silkiest pumpkin pie I've ever had and it had a richer color, too!

So, even though I didn't make everything I normally make when Shelby is home, I made the "must haves" and our dinner was wonderful!!! I hope you have a change to try some of these changes in your dishes.....they work...promise!

Oh yea....the turkey turned out great, too!

It's a New Soup Day!!!

The best thing to do on a rainy day is make a pot of soup! I made this one a couple of weeks ago....it was all gone in two days! I got this recipe from Tyler's Ultimate, one of my most favorite Food Network shows. It's rich and delicious!

The Ultimate Beef Stew

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for frying, plus more to drizzle
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 3 pounds beef chuck shoulder roast, cut into 2-inch pieces (this cut is also called chuck shoulder pot roast and chuck roast boneless)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle good quality dry red wine (Tyler recommends burgundy....I used my favorite Black Dog from Chateau Morrisette...down the street from Melin's cabin!)
8 fresh thyme sprigs
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 orange, zest removed in 3 (1-inch) strips (I left this out....orange and beef?)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I left this out...just not crazy about cloves!)2 bay leaves
2 1/2 cups beef stock (I used Kitchen Basics)
9 small new potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut in 1/2
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups frozen pearl onions, a large handful
1 pound white mushrooms, cut in 1/2
1/2 pound garden peas frozen or fresh
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish

Horseradish Sour Cream, recipe follows, for garnish

Directions

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the oil and butter.

While the pan is heating, arrange the flour on a large dish. Season the cubed beef with some salt and freshly ground black pepper and then toss in the flour to coat. Shake off the excess flour and add the beef chunks in a single layer to the hot pan, being careful not to over crowd the pan, you might have to work in batches. Thoroughly brown all of the cubes on all sides. Once all the meat has been browned remove it to a plate and reserve.

Add the wine to the pan and bring up to a simmer while you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon being sure to loosen up all those tasty bits. Once the wine has gotten hot add the browned meat, thyme, smashed garlic, orange zest strip, ground cloves, freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste, bay leaves and beef stock. Bring the mixture up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until the liquids start to thicken, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 1/2 hours.

After 2 hours add halved potatoes, sliced carrots, pearl onions and mushrooms, along with a pinch of sugar to balance out the acid from the red wine. Turn the heat up slightly and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes more, until the vegetables and meat are tender. Add the frozen peas during the last minute of cooking. Season with salt and pepper and remove the thyme sprigs.

To serve, place the stew in a soup bowl, garnish with parsley, drizzle with olive oil and add a dollop of Horseradish Sour Cream. Right before serving add a slice of toasted french bread, rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil, half way submerged in the stew.

Horseradish Sour Cream:

1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Chives, finely chopped, as garnish

Combine sour cream, prepared horseradish and a drizzle of olive oil in a small bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add a dollop of the mixture on top of the stew and garnish with chopped chives.

Enjoy! Have a great day everyone.....and to all on the East Coast, stay dry!!!

A Facelift for the Holidays!!!

I've been waiting for Thanksgiving to be over so I could use the Christmas blogskin that matches my kitchen during the holidays! Over the years I have collected just a few decoratives that are peppermint....not really intentionally, it just happened. I'm actually not a fan of the mint flavor, but I love the look of peppermint. I use clear glass candy jars and fill each with a different size or shape of peppermints, including one that holds candy canes. I also have a peppermint apron, peppermint spreaders.....so, now my blog matches my kitchen! I wish they had this one without the "ho ho ho"....I'd keep it year round!

How Sweet It IS!!!!

I know I haven't been here for you, but it's not too late! Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Sooooo....just in time.....my recipe for Sweet Potato Souffle! We have to have this on our table, but it's so rich that we never eat all of it! Maybe we would if I didn't also make the pumpkin pie.........hmm....should I? No, no, no.....gotta have that, too!

Sweet Potato Souffle

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (canned or fresh)

1 cup brown sugar (try less, then add more to taste)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk (or half and half or evaporated milk)

1/2 cup melted butter

Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup pecans (chopped)

Combine first 6 ingredients. Pour into a buttered 1½ to 2-quart casserole dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and lightly browned.

I'm making mine tonight, so I'll add the pictures later. This is one of those sides that is very easy to make the day before and keep in the fridge until time to bake.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!!